"Kingdoms have I none, but yours will come from heaven."

NAFANUA

  

In the realms of possibilities, anything is possible.  

But in the realm of truth, one is everything.

A promise was made to continue our discussion in light of God's Word -Acts 16:16-18. 

But before we turn to the Book of Acts, you may need to read this:

A personal anecdote ...

Some years ago, a group of tried theologians invited me to talk about the experience of the Samoans in their first encounter with the Christian missionaries. 

It's a fascinating story that ought to be shared. 

I must admit.  Behind that podium, I stood with pride.  Why not?  Up to that time, I never heard of a people anywhere around the world that treated the Christian missionaries with love, respect, and admiration.  

The Samoans stood alone in that regard.

Sharing this historic and unique experience of our people, I could never be more proud.  That no missionary was martyred on our soil.  That the missionaries were treated as if they were angelic messengers from heaven.  That our ancestors were grateful and excited to have received the Gospel and the Church.  That almost overnight, without much persuasion, Samoa turned to God.  And that it was not the missionaries of the LMS that initiated the process for our ancestors' conversion to Christianity.  The credit goes to our own influential Nafanua, who foretold the coming of the heavenly kingdom. 

Having to share this experience before a non-Samoan audience was an accomplishment in itself worthy of recognition.

But as I approached the end of my talk, the inner fabric of confidence that sustains my conviction snapped.  It just did.  I was horrified inside to say the least.  I did not know what it was.  I just felt that there was something terribly wrong with my presentation.  

Two months later, after reading Acts 16:16-18,

I had a change of heart.  

What was perceived as my proudest moment turned out to be my most embarrassing and humiliating experience.  The thought of having at least one professor in that audience to discern the major flaw in my presentation was unbearable. 

Samoa turned Christians almost overnight.  Christian, at last!  

Indeed yes; 

but on whose terms they live out the Christian life? 

YES I AM WELL AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY 

Preparation is absolutely important to God.  

The Gospel writers provide a classic example in the case of John the Baptist.  God sent John to serve as the 'voice crying in the wilderness' to prepare the way of the Lord.  He was divinely assigned to make straight the hearts and minds of the Jews for the arrival of Jesus, their long awaited Messiah.  

However, in spite of John's effort, the Jews did not just reject Jesus.  They tortured and mocked him as he carried his cross to Golgotha.  The display of their rejection concluded with Jesus' historic crucifixion on the cross.

In the realms of possibilities,

Nafanua could be the Baptist for the Samoans.  And we may have a story that could look something like this: 

Nafanua, under the Sovereignty of the Almighty God, was given a John-like assignment for the sake of the Samoans.  Her effort did not go to waste.  Her message was short, simple, and memorable:  "Kingdoms have I none, but yours will come from heaven."  

Malietoa returned home, hopeful.  He understood the promise and was willing to wait for its fulfillment however long it took.  A promise from a credible source was all it took to prepare the hearts and minds of the Samoans for the Gospel of Jesus Christ: a promise of a kingdom from heaven for a people well organized, without a religion.   

With that possibility in mind, let us compare the Jews' experience with that of the Samoans.  King Herod beheaded John the Baptist; his fellow Jews killed Jesus.  Malietoa, on the other hand, placed absolute trust in the prophetic words of Nafanua.  He passed the baton of leadership to his successor with a death wish to await the arrival of his kingdom from heaven.  The Samoans are still singing Nafanua's praise today.  What a story! 

The Samoans believe that the promise of the heavenly kingdom was fulfilled in 1830 at the time of Malietoa Vaiinupo, who received John Williams and a team of Bible teachers from the London Missionaries Society.  Without hesitation, Malietoa embraced the Gospel message and declared himself to be a true follower of Jesus Christ.  He adopted the name David from the Bible to reflect the transformation that led to his ordination as a Samoan missionary to his own people. 

As a missionary, Malietoa managed to convince Tuimanua, the ancient king of Samoa and a few other Pacific Islands, to surrender all of Samoa to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the supreme rule of heaven and earth.  As a result, the people of Samoa became a Christian people, almost overnight. 

On a personal level, Malietoa eventually received his long awaited crown as king.  He was the first known Samoan to have united the people of the Westside Samoa, without the four traditional crowns.  

Thanks to the foresight of the influential Nafanua. Or should we thank God for appointing Nafanua to prepare the hearts of the Samoans?

The PROBLEM with this scenario ... in the nutshell ... 

The appointment of John the Baptist had its foundation in scripture; read Isaiah 40:3. On the contrary, Nafanua's presumed appointment had no biblical support.  Moreover, John was fully human.  Nafanua was something else.   

In conclusion, the Bible renders no support for the possible viewpoint.  I would then point out that in the realms of possibilities, anything is possible. But in the realm of truth, one is everything.

An important question to consider:

Suppose that Nafanua volunteered to assist God and his LMS missionaries in getting the Gospel to the Samoans, do we have reason to question her motive?

Following the Apostle Paul's example, I believe I do ... 

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
Grace and Peace of God and our Lord Jesus Christ to you all!

Acts 16:16-18

One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.